Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ James Crichton on its focus on personalising luxury

The MENA region has set a new benchmark forbespoke value. Could you share some of the most notable or unique bespoke commissions from 2024, and how these commissions reflect the region’s growing demand for personalised luxury?

The Middle East remains a very important market for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, particularly in the realm of bespoke. Every motor car serves as a blank canvas for an owner’s unique vision and in 2024 we were once again inspired by the creativity and ambition of our clients.

This growing appetite for highly personalised luxury has propelled the region to lead globally in average bespoke value per motor car.

Notable commissions from this year reflect the region’s evolving tastes, blending artistic expression, cultural heritage, and intricate design inspired by unique collaborations in our new showrooms in the region and Private Office in Dubai.

Some examples:

• ‘Couture Phantom’ demonstrates the region’s appreciation for detailed artistry and elegance. It features a delicate lace-inspired embroidered gallery, a Bespoke interior finished in Sunrise and Grace White leather, and a striking two-tone exterior in Crystal over Palais Nemaskar Dawn and Crystal over Arctic White, creating a visually captivating presence.
• ‘Rose Spectre’ reflects a deep connection to nature-inspired beauty. This commission features intricate rose embroidery on the headrests and rear waterfall, achieved through an advanced 3D embroidery technique blending multiple yarns. Personalised airbrush artwork enhances this creation, highlighting the dedication to craftsmanship that is central to Bespoke.
• A specially commissioned Phantom celebrates a client’s milestone 50th birthday, blending deeply personal elements with artistic innovation. The client’s initials are featured in the hand-painted Coachline, treadplates, and headrests, while the Bespoke Starlight Headliner recreates the exact constellation present at the time and place of their birth — a powerful symbol of legacy and personal storytelling.

These commissions exemplify the region’s demand for luxury that tells a story.

Clients seek creations that embody their values and aspirations, while Rolls-Royce continues to transform their dreams into masterpieces through the expertise of the Bespoke Collective at Goodwood.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars opened four new showrooms in the region in 2024, including in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, and Bahrain. How do these new showrooms enhance the Rolls-Royce experience for clients, and what unique features do they offer to appeal to younger, self-made clientele?

The recently opened new showrooms across the region are designed to enhance the client experience and reflect the brand’s evolution into a true “House of Luxury”. These spaces embody the marque’s latest visual identity, blending timeless sophistication with innovative digital technologies and elegant interior design to create a comfortable, discreet, and contemporary environment.

At the heart of these showrooms is The Bespoke Commissioning Atelier, which elevates the commissioning journey by immersing clients in Rolls-Royce craftsmanship. Clients can explore an extensive range of bespoke materials — surface finishes, wood veneers, leathers, fabrics, and embroidery threads — all tailored to their personalities and aspirations. This tactile, sensory experience allows them to see and feel how their dream motor car will come to life.

The experience is further enhanced by the Cabinet of Curiosities, a curated collection of objects designed to spark inspiration. Additionally, the hospitality lounge offers a secluded space for clients to relax and socialise, ensuring a comfortable and exclusive atmosphere.

These thoughtfully designed showrooms reflect the growing demand for bespoke luxury in the region. By offering an immersive and technologically advanced environment, Rolls-Royce caters to younger, self-made clients seeking highly personalised luxury.

Through this blend of innovation and timeless craftsmanship, each client embarks on a journey where their most ambitious visions become reality.

The opening of the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Private Office in Dubai has been pivotal. Can you describe the role of the Private Office in transforming the bespoke experience for clients, and how does it differ from traditional showroom offerings?

The opening of the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Private Office in Dubai represents a transformative moment for the bespoke experience, bringing Goodwood, Home of Rolls-Royce, closer to clients across the region.

This is not a dealership but a highly personalised invite-only space designed to deepen the relationship between Rolls-Royce and its clients, offering exclusive access to the craftsmanship and creativity synonymous with the marque.

As an extension of the home of Rolls-Royce, the Private Office provides an elevated, bespoke experience. It features the first permanently stationed bespoke lead designer and bespoke client experience manager outside Goodwood, enabling clients to collaborate directly with experts throughout their commissioning journey.

The Private Office Dubai redefines the eespoke experience with a discreet, sophisticated environment where visions come to life with meticulous attention to detail. It reinforces Rolls-Royce’s presence in one of its most significant markets and underscores the marque’s commitment to delivering the pinnacle of personalised luxury. The space integrates both physical and digital tools to enhance the process.

Clients can explore bespoke materials, while advanced technology offers real-time access to Goodwood engineers and craftspeople, allowing them to witness key moments in their motor car’s creation.

This marks the largest investment in Goodwood since its opening in 2003, driven by rising global demand for bespoke and coachbuild commissions. It holds particular importance for the Middle East, a region leading the world in average Bespoke value per motor car. For clients here — who continually seek sophisticated, intricate, and highly personalised designs — this investment ensures Rolls-Royce Motor Cars can continue to exceed expectations through enhanced craftsmanship and innovation.

In 2024, the Middle East and Africa region achieved a landmark year for bespoke commissions, reaffirming its pivotal role in Rolls-Royce’s success. To support this demand, the expanded Goodwood facilities will provide the Bespoke Collective — our expert team of designers, engineers, and craftspeople — with the resources and space to realise ever more ambitious and intricate creations.

This investment underscores Rolls-Royce’s commitment to its Middle Eastern clients, whose creativity and ambition inspire the marque.

The past year has been a record-breaking one for sales in the Middle East and Africa, with notable demand for models like the Spectre, Cullinan Series II, and Phantom. What trends do you see shaping the luxury automotive market in this region in the coming years, and how is Rolls-Royce Motor Cars adapting to these evolving client preferences?

This surge underscores key trends shaping the region’s luxury automotive market, particularly the growing demand for highly personalised motor cars. Clients increasingly view Bespoke features as meaningful expressions of their identity, creativity, and heritage — a trend expected to drive the market in the coming years.

A notable shift is the rise of younger, self-made clients who seek modern luxury through innovative design and exclusive personalisation. For them, the commissioning process is a creative journey – an opportunity to craft a masterpiece that reflects their personal story and ambitions.

In response, the significance of expanding the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood equips the Bespoke Collective to deliver increasingly complex and ambitious commissions, ensuring clients continue to immerse themselves in the world of Rolls-Royce.

Our digital dialogue is also enhancing client engagement. Our invitation-only Whispers app, which saw a 55 per cent increase in membership globally in 2024, provides clients with exclusive access to insights, networking opportunities, and direct communication with senior executives. This deepens the relationship between Rolls-Royce and clients who value both immersive physical experiences and curated digital services.

As demand for bespoke increases and high-value luxury experiences continue to grow, Rolls-Royce is uniquely positioned to lead. Through expanded bespoke capabilities, immersive showrooms, and personalised client services, we offer unparalleled opportunities for clients across the region to realise their most ambitious visions.

Tell us about the company’s strategy around electric vehicles and sustainability.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is mindful of everything we do — from our unparalleled design, craftsmanship and attention to detail, to our relationships with clients, employees, suppliers and local communities; we strive to reduce the environmental impacts of our design, engineering and manufacturing processes.

Our journey towards the electrification of our product range began with the launch of Spectre in 2023. It has proven that electric drive is perfectly suited to Rolls-Royce: our clients confirm that Spectre’s specially engineered electric drivetrain amplifies the attributes we are most famous for — silence, waftability, effortless power and the world-famous ‘magic carpet ride’.

We recognise that consumer demand for electric vehicles has changed within the automotive sector, but Rolls-Royce is a luxury house and therefore insulated from the mass-market trends.

As a client-led organisation we will continue to monitor the feedback from our clients. However, our electrification strategy has not changed. It is evident that electrification perfectly suits our brand and that is our clear direction of travel. Sales of Spectre show this clearly: in 2024, Spectre was the second best-selling model globally.